By Charlotte Boland
Staff Writer
‘Tis a sad day indeed. Students dressed in black stand around a large unlit bonfire. One by one, they approach and lay down their paper copies of The Troubadour, the last of its noble kind. When all have been placed, a representative from The Troubadour staff comes forward with a torch.
“My brothers and sisters, today we mourn the loss of our dearly beloved newspaper. While we fought bravely against the technological sirens of this age, loss of funds has forced us to surrender and relinquish the pride of our campus journalism. May the traditional Troubadour rest in peace.”
Tears stream down the students’ cheeks and sobs fill the air when the funeral pyre is lit. An uncertain future now awaits.
Though this scene is figurative, the emotion it evokes is real. I, like many of my fellow
Troubadour lovers, am disappointed at the new direction that the paper is taking.
Without a physical newspaper to tuck under my arm as I walk back to my dorm, how will I feel distinguished? What will my household sisters do now that they can no longer do the crossword puzzles in the common room? Where will my roommate get enough newspaper for her planned paper mâché replica of Fr. Dave’s head?
There is a special delight in sitting down with your cup of coffee in a plush chair to shake open the newest edition of The Troubadour. It’s sophisticated and elegant, a timeless treasure to behold. In comparison, standing in front of a board to scan a QR code to read off your phone is simply heartbreaking.
So much of our lives are devoted to our phones already. Must we surrender our beloved Troubadour to these digital deities also? With most of our daily work as students confined to the internet, The Troubadour was a refreshing break for our eyes from screens. This break is now lost to us.
Many students will also be less inclined to read the news without a physical copy they can grab in passing. Let’s face it, unless you’re dedicated to staying informed, who wants to pull up another website? This is without mentioning the fact that some students have phones which can’t scan QR codes at all.